"Most of the discussions about American Indians are stuck on the controversy of the day, disputes that might involve fish, natural resources or gambling. But tribal citizens and their governments have an important place in the national story -- one...

The House Resources Committee will hold a hearing this Thursday on a bill that seeks to speed up the federal recognition process for tribal groups that have been waiting decades for an answer. Making good on one of his legislative...

Bottom Line: BIA - $2.187 billion, a cut of $109 million OST - $3.04 billion, an increase of $76 million IHS - $3.048 billion, an increase of $64 million To view the budget, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006. After seeing four years...

Non-Indians say the Tulalip Tribes should pay them for houses they built on land leased from the tribe. The Marysville Tulalip Community Association is seeking legal advice for the 343 families with homes on the reservation. Many are upset that...

Arrests related to methamphetamine use have grown by 100 percent in the last five years, a Navajo Nation police officer says. The tribe has no law against the sale, possession or manufacture of the drug. "Right now we don't have...

The California Tribal Police Chiefs Association filed suit against the state of California last year to seek access to the state's law enforcement database. Tribal police departments are the only governments denied access to the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System....

The Bush administration is announcing its fiscal year 2006 budget today. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will begin posting budget documents this morning at around 10am. They can be accessed at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006. Interior Secretary Gale Norton...

Tribal colleges throughout the nation are dealing with financial shortfalls due to lack of support from the federal government. Tribal colleges are authorized for $6,000 per student. But the American Indian Higher Education Consortium says they are only getting $4,447...

Bruce Subiyay Miller, a nationally recognized artist and spiritual leader of the Skokomish Tribe of Washington, died of a stroke early Saturday morning. He was 60. Miller was known as the keeper of the tribe's traditions. He worked to pass...

Winona James, the oldest member of the Washoe Tribe, died of natural causes last Tuesday. She was at least 102. James was born around 1902 but family members aren't sure her exact age. She grew up in a teepee and...

The chairwoman of the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona says a new voter identification proposal will hurt tribal members. The state plans to require proof of citizenship to register to vote and certain forms of identification to vote at polling...

South Dakota could be the first, and only, state in the nation to make fry bread its official state bread. The State Affairs Committee voted 11-0 on Friday in favor of a bill to designate fry bread as the official...

CHURCHILL FAR FROM OBJECTIVE BUT DON'T FIRE HIM "Professor Ward Churchill's disgusting essay about the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, raises a lot of questions ... But he shouldn't be fired. That's a form of censorship....

Representatives of tribes from eight states are in Portland, Oregon, this week to participate in the winter conference of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI). Delegates will consider issues related to education, natural resource management, gaming and economic development,...

The United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) kicks off its annual "Impact Week" meeting in the Washington, D.C., area today. Gaming, education, health, law enforcement, the 109th Congress and a number of other topics are on the agenda. Several lawmakers...

A Montana lawmaker appointed to one of the state's majority-Indian districts says it is nearly impossible to represent his constituents adequately. State Sen. Glenn Roush, a non-Indian, serves Senate District 8, a vast territory that includes the Blackfeet Reservation and...

High rates of syphilis on the Navajo Nation have prompted tribal officials to launch a public awareness and education campaign. The outbreak began in 2000, when nine cases were reported, up from two the year before. In 2001 and 2002,...

Activist Suzan Shown Harjo says her recent Indian Country Today column calling for the elimination of fry bread has received more responses than any other she's written. But Harjo, the executive director of The Morningstar Institute, says the response has...

About $70,000 in political contributions made by the Tigua Tribe of Texas and funneled through disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff are unaccounted, The Arizona Republic reports. The tribe gave Abramoff a lump sum of $300,000 that he was to distribute to...

A jury in Florida deliberated for four hours on Friday before finding a member of the Miccosukee Tribe guilty for murdering his two young songs. Kirk Billie was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder. He drove an SUV carrying...

"Pictures of tragedy and the accounts that follow inspire most of us to do something. We see a flood, a fire, an earthquake, hurricane or tsunami, and we know that other human beings need our help. We understand the story,...

"Some of those who claim they are American Indian and boast a miniscule blood quantum say federal recognition isn't important, even as they take advantage of their federally protected status. Some even turn around and began to teach American Indian...

"So far, [CU Professor Ward] Churchill stands strong on his right to free speech. But the bigger problem he faces is a question of identity. He's built an academic career writing about indigenous peoples. He often layers his academic discourse...